The Effectiveness of Partnerships at the Continental Divide Research Learning Center in Rocky Mountain National Park

Eggleston, Allison

Since the National Park Service (NPS) announced a major new initiative in 1999: the Natural Resource Challenge (NR Challenge), the NPS has increased its spending on science in the parks in order to expand inventory and monitoring programs, improve collaboration with other professionals, expand research and education programs, and target management actions to address management issues (Parsons, 2004). The NPS has manifested this initiative in a number of ways, one of which was the establishment of Research Learning Centers (RLCs). As part of the NPS Research Learning Center Network, the Continental Divide Research Learning Center (CDRLC) in Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) brings value to the NPS by enhancing ecological management through cooperation, public and private partnerships and sharing of resources in its research program (National Parks Science Committee of the NPS Advisory Board, 2009). To date, very few research studies have focused on valuing the benefits of RLCs and the extent of collaboration in the NPS, in part because it is difficult to value all of the myriad benefits of research partners and collaboration in science. The purpose of this study is to perform a cost analysis of the last two years of permitting data to determine the total hours researchers spent in the park to determine the added value that partners provide to the park based on an hourly rate. Additionally, the analysis includes an assessment of the last two years of permitting data to assess recent patterns in research disciplines to better understand the motivators of research activities in the park. This study finds that the total research value added by the amount of time researchers spent in the park doubles the amount that the park spends directly on science activities each year, justifying the investment in the CDRLC. Additionally, this study finds that the wildlife discipline is the greatest contributor to that value and that partners with an academic influence have the potential to provide significant resource guidance. The CDRLC is a worthwhile investment as a public-private partnership model and maximizes the value of its resources to support science-informed decision-making through research deliverables. With a more comprehensive application and researcher budget tracking system, the NPS could effectively prove more value added to the park through labor, transportation, and equipment costs. Future research should focus on determining the motivations of researchers, effective use of research deliverables and best practices of the CDRLC through a qualitative analysis of park staff and researchers, in addition to a more comprehensive or historical sampling of data to better determine trends through time. In resource management, the most reliable route to actionable science is coproduction and scientific information is crucial to ensure the long-term preservation of resources (Beier, Hansen, Helbrecht, & Behar, 2016). It is in the best interest for ROMO to continue to build trust relationships with partners and actively seek partnership activities with other NPS affiliates, local organizations, governmental agencies, colleges and universities to pursue management-guided research. These partnerships can continue to help accomplish the NPS mission and the NR Challenge goals by allowing more science-informed decision-making, understanding of natural resource management problems facing the park and identifying strategies for potential resolution.